Waiting for a Train
by StudyInViolet
Summary: "You should have suspected trouble, we're in Santana Lopez's mind! Didn't you read her profile I expected nothing less than an army!"     Kurt leads a team hired to perform Inception on Santana Lopez.  AU. Implied P/Q, A/T, and B/S
1. Prolouge

Prologue

* * *

_You're waiting for train, a train that will take you far away. You know where you hope this train will take you, but you can't be sure…_

* * *

"What is the most resilient parasite known to man? A bacteria, a fungus?"

Quinn lowered her forkful of food, though she did not make any other sign she was paying the mind.

"An idea," Kurt said sliding his chair forward, "once an idea takes root it's impossible to remove, unless you're a skilled extractor."

"Quite so," Artie added from his end of the table. He hadn't touched his food, and throughout the course of the meal had been observing them keenly as if waiting for a sign to proceed. "In the dream state your thoughts are rather vulnerable to theft and those with the means can steal your deepest secrets."

"Ms. Fabray," Kurt said smoothly, "we can train your subconscious to avoid these extractors."

"And how can you guarantee that?"

"Because I am the most skilled extractor around," Kurt said brushing the silk scarf at his throat, "I know all the tricks to find your hidden thoughts, your secrets, your memories. I can train you, train your mind if you let me. Trust me. "

Quinn smirked as she dabbed her mouth, "the last time I let someone convince me with "trust me" it cost me a life." She rose to her feet, picking up her purse. "You might have to try a harder bargain next time boys, if there's a next time. Surely gifted people like yourself can spring for better than an outside cafe."

She turned to looked disdainfully at the small restaurant, with its humble garden wall and white wicker tables, and frowned. Did she take a cab or drive?

And on that note how did she get here in the first place?

Glasses shattered on the tables and Quinn whipped around but two men were gone, vanished into thin air. Before she even had time to asses how to get out of here, a shard of glass hit her directly in the chest.

* * *

Quinn woke in her train compartment, panting clutching at her chest expecting blood, but seeing none.

Staring at her clean fingertips she tried to grab on to the remnants of a half remembered dream lurking in the back of her mind before it slipped away. There were two men, they offered her a proposition, something about dreams, and what they can do with them...

Her hand closed into a fist as she sat up in her seat and pulled out her phone dialing a familiar number.

She had a deal to close.


	2. The Tourist

[The Tourist]

* * *

"Not so fast."

Quinn entered the elevator with a gun leveled in their faces. They reacted accordingly, freezing instead of bolting. But that was the benefit of cornering someone in an elevator, particularly when one of the pair was in a wheelchair.

The door slid shut behind her and she hit a button.

"I see we're back in reality," Quinn said calmly as if they were discussing the weather instead of how she managed to track them down from train that let them off hundreds of miles from their current location. "It was nice trick you tried back there. Pity it didn't work."

"What do you want?" Kurt asked, "What we took from you?"

"I'm not bothered by that," Quinn replied, "I have a job for you, since you have an unusual ability I can use."

Artie's hand unconsciously tightened around the briefcase he carried in his lap.

Quinn pretended not to notice and smiled at the two men across from her, "it all depends if you can deliver."

Artie moved to speak, but Kurt lifted a hand his pride ruffled, "We can deliver, there's no one else in the world that specializes in what we do."

"I'm looking for inception, do you specialize in that?"

"Inception?" Artie echoed, "It's impossible. There's no way to plant an unique idea in someone's mind."

"You steal ideas don't you," Quinn said as she calmly turned to him, "why not plant one?"

"You can't," Artie countered, "If I say to you "don't think about elephants" and what do you think about?"

"Elephants." Quinn replied.

"Exactly," Artie tapped the arm rest of his chair, "You only think elephants because I said, and your mind knows it too. The mind can always trace the genesis of idea. Inception can't be done."

"Yes it can," Kurt said quietly, "if done with care and caution it can be done, I've done it before."

"It's still a big risk we can't," Artie protested, "there are issues involved, layers-"

"How complex is the idea?" Kurt interrupted Artie with a glare.

"Simple enough." Quinn watched the pair knowing it was Kurt she had to convinced, Artie would follow, he was a details man keen to call others out and stay on point. Yes once hooked Kurt she had the team. Of all the deadly sin pride was clearly Kurt's vice and that something she would willingly exploit much like she had done with others.

"No idea is simple when placing in the mind," Kurt replied. "What is it?"

Quinn lowered her gun, "I want Santana Lopez to pull the plug on her magazine."

"Walk away from this Kurt," Artie cautioned Kurt in undertone, "the risks involved with this is more costly than anything she can do to us."

"You're asking very dire thing," Kurt said quietly to Quinn, "one this seed is place in this woman's mind it'll change everything. Is that a risk you're willingly to take?"

"The better question is if you're willingly to take a leap of faith," Quinn interjected meeting Kurt's eyes, "and see if the risk was worth it?"

Kurt's face went blank, and the stiffness in Artie's told Quinn in more ways than one she got them.

"If we can do this," Kurt said ignoring the stern look Artie was giving him, "how do you know I can deliver?"

"You don't, but I can." The elevator's doors opened revealing they were on the roof with a helicopter waiting for them. Quinn tucked her gun into her purse gesturing for them to follow her. "All you need to do is assemble your team."


	3. The Chemist

[The Chemist]

* * *

"You're looking for what?" Mercedes asked as she focused on her flasks.

"Great depth and clarity." Kurt replied. He leaned against her workstation absently turning over the miniature birdcage in his hand. Mercedes ignored the act as usual as she tries to understand what kind of job he had them going for this time. The last time he was vague about a job they ended up in the dreams of his brother's fiancée, an experience that made her almost want to leave the field completely.

"A dream within a dream," she said with shrug, "I gave you plenty for two levels."

"I'm looking for three."

Mercedes glanced up in horror. "Are you mental? The dream will collapse under that much pressure, it'll grow unstable!"

"That's what I told him," Artie said from the other side of the room. Tina was sitting in the bench next to his chair, sketching out a maze. She lifted up the sketchpad trying to hide her giggles, but failed dismally.

"It's possible," Kurt stood up crossing his arms over his chest. "You just need a sedative."

"A powerful sedative," Mercedes replied, she glanced over at Quinn who reclining neatly on bench observing all of this with a keen eye, "What kind of fool job have you hired us for?"

"Inception requires going deeper than usual," Kurt interrupted her, "we need a very strong sedative, I know you have some on you 'Cedes."

Mercedes lowered the instruments in her hands, feeling her resolve weaken, "It's just the five of us right?"

"Six," Quinn corrected, "I need to observe to see if the job is being done properly."

"Excuse me princess," Puck said as entered the room. He tossed a collection of files into Artie's face. "But there's no room for tourists in dreams." He plopped down on the extra bench beaming at her crookedly, "trust me I should know."

Quinn ignored him, "If this is a problem, we can just find a new chemist."

Mercedes looked to her to Artie and Tina who just shrugged and then back to Kurt. Her best friend stared at her unflinchingly as she remembered that he had done this before, he knew what he was doing. He was the one that got them all involved in this in the first place. Kurt wouldn't ask them risk their lives.

"This pull better be better be worth it Hummel, because this is deep sedation." She opened a drawer pulling out a vial she seldom, if ever used. The others, even Puck who pretended disinterest, leaned in closer, "It keeps the dreamer stable and speeds the brain function making time spent in each level 20 times longer the deeper we go."

"Ten hours in real-time is one week in level one," Artie said doing quick mental math.

"That means, ten years in level three," Tina gasped. She frowned lowering the sketchpad. "If we finish the job early what's going to keep us from being stuck given how deep the sedation is?"

"A series time of kicks should do the trick." Artie rolled up to center of the room, dropping the files in Puck's lap as he passed in front of him. "We should have them linked to get impact down right."

"A kick?" Quinn asked.

"This," Puck sat up yanking back the handles of Artie's chair, tipping him backwards with a small noise of protest, "is a kick."

Tina threw a ruler at Puck's head, even as Artie jerked away with a dark scowl.

"It's the sensation of falling," Mercedes addressed Quinn as if she didn't notice their antics, "I often occurs when you wake from a dream, jerking us out of it. The sedative is customized to leave inner ear function free to allow us to feel the kick. We'll time it with musical cue as always to synch them"

"We still have a problem though," Artie said as he straightened his collar, "I hacked into Lopez 's files, there isn't a moment we can grab her for the hours we need."

"The sedative works for ten," Mercedes said rolling the vial between her fingers, "but I wouldn't like to worry about how much time we have or possible interruptions."

"Can't have a repeat of the Schuester fiasco," Tina shuddered.

"Lopez makes a weekend trip to Australia once a month," Quinn said thoughtfully glancing at her phone, "it's coming up in a few weeks, I can arrange for her private jet to be experiencing unexpected technical issues." She pressed a button, adding, "I also bought the airline she's likely to book as well."

Puck looked at Quinn with no small amount of admiration, "Princess, I like your style."

"You do know being our financial backer won't be enough, have you ever had any experience with what we do?" Mercedes asked. She placed the vial on the table, not willingly to be intimated by this show of power. Blondie had no idea what she was walking into.

"I experienced this dream state before," Quinn said looking over at Kurt and Artie.

Tina made a face, "You're freelancing again, and you didn't tell me? No wonder you got caught."

"So no real experience," Mercedes picked up another vial, "how about some training on how the dreamscape works." She smiled as concern spread across Quinn's face, "if you're going come with us, you need to know the limits of a dream."


	4. The Forger

[The Forger]

* * *

"To do inception, we need to be creative," Puck said as he sprawled on the chair. He jerked a finger at the board of designs Artie had put up, "and that's not cutting it."

"What do you suggest then?" Artie bristled as Kurt hastily looked up from the mazes Tina was in process of designing.

"Not that. Think bigger Abrams."

"You're job is to get the idea we're planting to take root," Kurt said to Puck. "what do you suggest?"

"I don't know, as long as it's not "quit while I'm ahead"."

"That's not helpful," Kurt blustered.

"I'm not the one who took this on as a whim," Puck countered, "I better at least get half your share for this. Deep sedation," he shivered, "you're just asking for trouble."

"You can walk Puckerman," Quinn said from her customary corner. She was thumbing through a fashion magazine, one that would hopefully become Lopez's last. "You're replaceable."

She made the same threat each time one of them hesitated, and Puck was starting to think it was just a show. She may be giving the means to fund the venture, but the shrewd businesswoman was slowly losing her ground. You couldn't buy and barter dreams after all, yet.

"I'm not about to walk," Puck remarked as he leaned forward, "I'm just pointing out the flaws in the whole arrangement."

"Congratulations," Artie said rolling his eyes, "you're thinking outside the box."

"You got a problem Abrams?"

"You haven't given a suggestion yet, I gave you files on the mark," Artie replied, "that you, returned to me so graciously."

"I know everything I need to know, about Santana Lopez." Puck added with leer as reclined in his chair placing his arms behind his head, "If you know what I mean."

"I'm leaping with suspicions," Artie said dryly. "The idea is to your skill to become someone close to her, not use intimate knowledge to your advantage."

"Who better than Brittany Pierce?"

"Her assistant?" Artie asked, turning to file photo of the blonde.

Puck wiggled his eyebrows. "If you know what I mean."

Artie's eyes widened. "You mean can impersonate a woman? I think know that was possible."

Kurt coughed into his hand to avoid laughing as Puck muttered something unsavory. "What have you learned?"

"That Lopez trusts her assistant with not just with her coffee and dry cleaning but is her main confidant. As I pretend I'll press the idea questioning if Lopez enjoys her work. The magazine was a legacy her parents pushed her towards."

"No," Kurt said with a shake of his head, "its needs to be positive emotion, negative will only make us lose control of the situation."

"She feeds on negatively if her background is any indication," Artie muttered.

"How about this then, 'would you like to go to Paris sometimes?' Chicks dig Paris after all."

Mercedes leaned over to Tina whispering as they watched the boys, "why are we trusting him with the most crucial part of the mission?"

"I agree with that," Quinn piped up, "why him, why not one of you?"

"His has skills lies in that area," Kurt replied, "he's a professional in theft, forgery, and other forms of debauchery."

"Been to big house to prove it too," Puck boasted.

"The rest of us need to be free to handle the other tasks on the level. The setup for the kicks and keeping the projections at bay. And while I'm thinking about it," he rolled up to Quinn looking at her earnestly, "you need to make a totem for you to carry."

"A totem?"

"A small object you can carry to make sure your mind isn't fucking with you," Puck said as he flipped a coin in his hand.

"Yes," Artie said ignoring Puck, "it's important since you're insisted on coming and we haven't had the time to make one."

"I'm just a tourist," Quinn replied glaring at Puck, "there's no need for it."

"Then tell us," Puck drawled as he caught the coin, "how did we get here?"

Puck had the pleasure in seeing Quinn's face glow blank before rage took over her delicate features.

"You-!" she sputtered throwing her magazine jumping to her feet, not sure who she was going to attack first.

"The first thing you should have noticed," Mercedes said smirking "was that we weren't in the same workspace, and the fact Artie can actually reach the board. The second is the arrangement of the windows, Tina has this thing for tessellations."

Quinn eyes darted to arrangment of the interlcoking arrangments as the tiny details they had placed in the dream version of the workroom came to light for her.

"Whose dream are we in?" Quinn asked faintly, looking as if she expected the dream to collapse.

"It's a shared dream state," Kurt countered, he stood next to her and pushed her take a seat. "this way your unconscious wouldn't try to kill us."

"And it should has hell would have tried," Puck smirked watching as Quinn slowly gained her compsure back, princess."

"If you had a totem this problem wouldn't exist," Artie point out cheekily.

"Then," Quinn asked wasiply, "what's a totem?"

"A elegant solution for keeping track of reality," Tina replied with a small smile, "I'll show to make one when we get topside. "


	5. The Architect

[The Architect]

* * *

Tina placed the ruler on the maze making sure it was level. As she did it feel over taking out part of the maze. Sighing, Tina sunk down into her chair looking at the other two mazes to her left and the date and time marked of Santana's flight on a post-it note. She had done lesser miracles in shorter amount of time , but this level was giving her trouble.

While the first two levels of the dreams were straight forward mazes, the third was required a bit more creatively, given the background they had gathered on the mark and the need of environment suiting their needs. The trouble was Kurt tended to change a lot of their plans mid stream.

"This might be a good place to start," Artie said sliding a book towards her, "if you're looking for something else."

Tina looked up from the mazes but the squeak of his wheels showed he had already wheeled off.

With two fingers, she turned the book around to see the title clearly and couldn't help but grin at the sight. She knew at once which designs she was going to mimic. Pulling out her sketchpad she had already started designing a preliminary sketch when the impatient huff by her side revealed Quinn who along with sporting her usual business suit wore a pair of dark shades.

"I need to speak to Hummel."

Tina looked over where Kurt and Puck laid on the bench, testing out Puck's disguises on the dreamscrape. Mercedes sat on the chair next to the whirling device taking notes, while Artie wheeled around checking their vitals.

"You'll have to wait, they're busy."

Quinn's mouth furled into a tiny frown, but she didn't say a word.

She sat down on the empty chair next to Tina and looked at her drawing.

"That doesn't look like a maze to me," she snapped. "It's not exactly what I think I should be paying for."

"That's the beauty of it, I'm not doing what you think." Tina said lightly. She lowered the sketchpad looking at the other women with interest. "is there a reason you're wearing sunglasses?"

Quinn lowered the shades to show puffy eyes from a lack of good night's sleep.

"Ah," Tina replied, putting the sketchpad to the side, "you're willingly to trust me about the totems now?"

"How can you all do this?" Quinn asked quietly, "how can you trust what's real and what's in your mind." She shivered recalling the scenarios Mercedes had brutally put her through. "it's all so real."

"That's the idea," Tina replied, "if it was a fantasy dreamscape, with unicorns walking on rainbows the dreamer wouldn't believe so hard that's it real."

"Brittany might."

"You know her?"

Quinn's expression didn't change, "why wouldn't I know her, I asked for the mark to be Lopez after all."

"This isn't personal is it?" Tina asked.

"Would it make a difference?"

"Not at all," Tina said honestly, "but it would affect your ability to affect the dreamscape if this is personal job."

"Dreamscape is no room for tourists," Quinn echoed grimly.

"You said it, I didn't."

Across the room, Mercedes closed her notebook and kicked the bench Puck was dreaming on, seconds before strains of the musical cue started.

Puck jumped up with a start glowering at her.

"I was in the middle of something!"

"'And I was testing the effectiveness of you reacting to the kick," Mercedes said as Kurt woke up from the dream state, "you'll be please to know it worked."

"Yeah, yeah, Jones."

Mercedes gathered her things heading back to her workbench giving Artie a thumbs up as she passed.

"How have you finished the adjustments you wanted to make?" Kurt asked pulling down his sleeve and absently smoothing down his hair.

Tina nodded, as she gestured to the mazes. Kurt studied them placing his hands together as his eyes darted along the pathways.

"I finished the layout for the first two but the last one should be finished shortly. That'll be the one you'll be dreaming of, I promise to make it challenging."

Kurt grinned slightly, "Always fun."

"You'll have to hurry on that," Quinn said sternly, "Lopez makes the trip in tomorrow, and another month would be too late."

"It's be done by tonight," Tina promised, "you just have to worry about us getting on the plane, are we riding first class?"

"Don't push your luck."

* * *

"I don't think I ever taken first class before," Tina to Artie as they got situated in their seats. "It's going to be interesting won't it?"

Quinn scowled darkly behind her book, apparently using all her willpower not to turn their way.

Across the aisle, Mercedes was leaning back, as she texted Kurt, who was in the front waiting for Lopez to arrive. Puck in the meantime was watching as the air hostess went about finishing up their prearranged setup. when Quinn stretched purposely kicking his seat.

"What?"

"I'm sorry sir," Quinn said vaguely before going back to her book. "Didn't see you."

Before their cover could risk being blown, their mark stepped in to the private compartment with one eye on the blackberry. Santana took her seat, surveying them all with disinterest before turning to face the window.

"Relax," Artie said gently loosening her hand from his, "it's going to be over soon."

Tina nodded watching as the stewardess handing Santana the doctored drink.

"Too late to turn back now."

Kurt leapt up to check her on Santana when her head fell backwards on the seat.

"And we're good to go," he said giving looking to the stewardess.

She disappeared into the back pulling the dream machine out the back.

"We have ten hours, but let's do it in less time," Kurt said as the cords were pulled out and handed off.

"I concur," Mercedes said as she leaned back in her chair.

Quinn was leaning back her free hand brushing the cross around her neck. Puck seemed unfazed as he sat slumped in the chair.

Artie set the timer and nodded at Kurt, who then turned to the stewardess who pressed the machine.


	6. The Mark

[The Mark]

* * *

"Do you need any assistance?"

Santana Lopez stared at the woman next before handing her a fresh cup of coffee, before she abruptly closed the planner on her blackberry. She glanced at the name tag barely wrinkling her noise at the very ethnic sounding "Mercedes" written on it.

"I'm find take you very much," Santana muttered as she picked up her cup. She sniffed recognizing the excess of sugar in her drink. Minimum wage workers.

She picked up her blackberry once more as a blond woman took a seat next to her.

"Blondie there's other seats-"

She heard a click of gun's safety being moved.

Guess her day wasn't going so well after all.

"Don't turn your head, don't make a sound. Stand up."

Santana stood up following the lead, leaving her blackberry on the table.

"I insured against this." Santana said, "and I'm going to put up a hell of a fight."

"Keep walking."

Santana walked out the coffee shop into back alley where an unmarked car was waiting for her as expected waiting for her.

"You have no idea what you're getting into." She remarked as bag was toss over her head.

"Trust me, we do." Her captor said before shoving her into the car.

* * *

It started the moment Santana was shoved into the car. A truck with shooters hanging out the window came after like something straight out of the video game.

Not expecting it so soon, Tina rammed into street lamp.

"Keep it together," Puck roared as he both pushed Santana down and tried to get a shot at the car behind them.

Tina glanced over at Quinn, who was sinking low in her seat, with a panicked expression despite the gun in her hands.

Tina spun the wheel and ripped through the streets breaking about fifteen rules in the normal world. But this was dream world there were different rules at stake. The safe house had several different routes to get there, and she was tempted to take the shortcut to cut across the bulk of the maze even if it might lead the projections to get closer to them.

One of the windows burst in the back and Tina flinched but kept driving.

"Are you fine!"

"Keep going!"

She heard more gun shots, and whether it was from her car or not, she tired not focus on it, as she cut through the road.

In one of the glance at her rearview mirrors she saw Artie flash the lights of the dented car behind them, just before he rams one of the car trailing after them from the side.

Tina spins the wheel, takes the shortcut, willing to trust the maze and her friends in the car behind her.

Keeping her eyes on the road she tried not think that if she had known this would have happened than she wouldn't have volunteered in the first place.

* * *

Both cars flew into the safe house, losing the projections but not entirely safe from them.

Chaos erupted as they tried to get the moving parts in order as save everything from falling apart.

Puck grabbed Santana lugging the businesswoman off to the backroom.

"This wasn't part of the plan!" Kurt yelled as he furiously paced brushing the glass off him jacket.

Artie ignored him, watching as Mercedes and Tina placed Quinn on the table, the blood from her wound dripping everywhere. Puck reappeared, a gun cocked ready to fire at the projects that were lurking about.

"A small army shouldn't be at our heels!"

"Apparently," Artie said calmly to his friend, "someone taught Lopez how to protect her mind from extractors,"

"It should have showed up though!" Kurt interrupted, "why didn't it show up?"

"I must have missed something," Artie added, "sorry."

Kurt scowled, but said nothing as Quinn coughed up more blood.

"Cool your jets, Hummel," Puck said as crossed the room towards. "I'll take of this," He aimed the gun at Quinn's head.

"Don't do that," Kurt said kicked him in the shin. The gunshot hit the ceiling and Mercedes swore vehemently as it barely missed.

"What the hell," Puck hissed swiping at Kurt, "I'm trying to put her out of misery!"

Kurt took a breath looking away from the others, "It'll only make it worse."

"This deep in sedation," Mercedes said quietly, "dying in a dream won't wake you up, you'll remain in limo until it wears off."

Tina swore softly under her breath as Puck looked over at Kurt.

"How long's is this limbo thing?"

"Easily decades," Artie said softly.

"And you didn't tell us this could happen!" Puck shouted.

"I didn't know we've been facing a small army!"

"You should have suspected trouble," Tina muttered, "I read her profile, I expected nothing less!"

"You should have warned us," Artie said to Kurt, "there are holes all over the plan now, the last time we faced a mind armed to the teeth like this we got run holes through on the second level. The deeper we go the more violent they get, reducing our chances to allow inception to occur."

"I know!"

"The likelihood," Artie said striding up to Kurt, "of us getting killed before we get the job done, is infinitely higher-"

"Don't argue statistics with me, this was the only way we could do the job. The only way."

"I better, " Puck interjected ,"Get you damn share for this job."

"We better finish the damn job," Tina muttered.

Quinn coughed, drawing their attention.

"Arguing with me," Kurt said sharply as he eyes flicked from Artie to Puck, "won't make this done easier. We need to get the ball rolling."

Puck rolled eyes, and he did a short turn, twisting into the form of Brittany Pierce.

"I hate when he does that," Tina hissed as the other two slipped on masks and headed to the back.

"Why," Quinn whispered, as Mercedes tried to patch her up the best she coudl, "why does this hurt so much if this is a dream?"

"Pain's in the mind," Tina replied as she pulled a gun out her holster, "watch her, I got to keep an eye out for the projections."

"Have you ever used one of those before?" Mercedes asked.

"No," Tina said cheerfully as she removed the safety, "but I'm really good at paintball."

* * *

In the back room Santana didn't even react when a bruised and bloody Brittany was shoved on to the floor next to her.

Kurt suspected he saw her eyes widened a bit, but her sneer didn't leave her face.

"You're not going to get what you want." Santana snapped, "I don't know anything about a will. My parents didn't leave me squat, as I have I worked my ass off to get. Legally and illegally."

As Brittany showed more of Puck's personality than the airy blonde's at that particularly statement, Kurt hastily took initiative, shoving a gun into Santana's face.

"Sources from the inside say your parents left a will, it's locked away in a safe you should have the code for."

"There's no safe," Santana spat. "Your sources are wrong."

"But San," Brittany whimpered, "I thought I saw a box when cleaning the vase your father left you."

Santana stiffened, "my father left me nothing, except lies?"

"Then why," Brittany asked, "did you follow in his footsteps?"

"Give us the number for the safe," Kurt asked quickly, while Santana was still reeling from this, "We know you know it." He cocked the gun at the false Brittany. "First numbers that come to your mind!"

"528," she said drawing out the words with sneer, "491."

Kurt gestured with the gun, for Artie to leave. "Let's see if you're right or not."

Leaving the backroom, Artie yanked off the mask as he returned where the girls were. "How bad is it?"

"They're coming," Tina said, "We need to get out of here. I keep shifting the mazes around but it won't hold for long."

"Just something else that's not going to plan," Artie sighed running a hand through his hair as he glanced over at Quinn than back at the window Tina was at, "we'll have to do it on the run."

"I think that's a bad idea," Mercedes said.

He grinned at her, "Don't have faith in your driving?"

Mercedes didn't have a chance to answer as the door opened with Santana having a bag once again over her head.

As Kurt was secured the mark in the van, Mercedes passed along the knockout gas before climbing into the driver's seat.

"How'd it go," Mercedes asked as Puck shrugged off the disguise.

"I planted the seed, but I hope it sticks. Lopez acted strange though, I thought for sure they were more intimate than that. The Puckasarus is never wrong."

"Never," Artie said emphatically as he helped Quinn into the van, "say that again."

"You deny my badassness?"

"He denies you're an idiot," Tina handed off the gun to Artie, "I'll get Quinn situated, you'll have to shoot them for us to get a lead headway."

Puck watched as Artie pushed open the window a bit and took aim. The first couple of lingering project he hit, but the there was one hiding on a rooftop that he kept missing.

"Move aside," Puck said materializing a bazooka gun into his hands. He stuck his head out and estimated the target, before pulling the trigger. "You mustn't be afraid to dream bigger, darling." The rooftop exploded causing fire and smoke to rise into the air.

Artie glared at him, "now you just put a bull's-eye on us."

Mercedes drove the van by, and Kurt gestured for them to get in. "We don't have time for peacock strutting."

Artie rolled his eyes and climbed in. "You got a plan?"

"I think," Kurt said as they whipped out the cords from the dream machine, "we'll do the run with Mr. Charles."

"No," Artie said forcefully, "the last time we did that it didn't work."

"It's our best bet," Kurt replied, "Trust me."

"How good is this bet?" Tina asked.

"Yeah," Puck interjected as he attached the cords to Quinn, "how bad didn't it work?"

Artie pursed his lips, but said nothing as he attached the cords.

"We're doing it," Kurt said, "play point if you must."

Kurt tapped the back of Mercedes's seat placing a gun in the glove compartment. "Drive safe, they're going to come after us. It'll get worse the deeper we go. We're counting on you."

"I know, I know," she said not looking back, as she reached for the dream machine and pressed the button, "Sweet dreams."

As the group feel into a deeper level of dreamscape, Mercedes was stuck with the very real possibility of avoiding gun men barreling after her.

Lucky for her though, she had some experience with this.

Mercedes spins the wheel hard, and the motorcycle slams it the car chasing after her. Maneuvering the truck she weaved through the crowded street, as rain and bullets pounded outside.

She kept glancing back at the group, worried at the mission was going and how she was going to manage. She may have had the easiest task, keeping them alive, jumpstarting the series of kick, but she was alone and at a loss of what to do without the backup.

Glass shattered and the rain poured in more steadily. Mercedes ignored it all, pulling out the gun shooting a few rounds as she headed towards the bridge. She had shed most of her tails as she headed the bridge, some by chance, and some by the cat and mouse game she played.

Stopping abruptly on the bridge, Mercedes fired a point blank shot at the projection, before she dived into back to back the headphones on Artie.

As she did she saw the trickle of blood trailing out of Quinn's mouth.

Her finger accidently pressed the play button play button on the ipod, and she mentally kicked herself for throwing the timing off.

Hurrying back to her seat, made sure she could grab the oxygen pump, before revving the car in reverse.

Her body tensed at the reflex to avoid the impact on the bridge, and she fights the small panic in her mind as hears the metal snap through.

As the van goes over the edge she hears faintly the French song Artie had insisted on always using as the musical cue as the van begins its descent into the water below.


	7. The Point Man

[The Point Man]

* * *

Santana was jostled as she stood in line and shoved a bit as her purse was stolen.

"Get back here," she yelled even as the man disappeared in the crowd.

Santana scowled the children that ran about the amusement with large stuffed animals and balloons in their hands as they ran between the rides.

"I hope you didn't have anything of value."

Santana turned to see a man dressed in a suit, wearing a pair shades. There was something odd about him that made him stand out from all the people around her, and for a moment the drifting carnival music paused as Santana narrowed her eyes at him.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"You don't remember me from the training? I'm Mr. Charles."

* * *

"You're going to break it," Tina pointed out as Artie twisted the watch on his hand. "And how could you keep track of things?"

Casting a glance over the park ground, Artie scowled once more in Kurt's directions. Their hapless friend was in conversation with Santana running the gambit.

With a sigh Artie let go of the watch, and sat down on the brick wall.

Tina smiled and sat down next to him, nudging him slightly in the ribs, "I thought you trusted Kurt?"

"I trust him, not his ideas."

"Then tell me how," Tina teased, lowering her sunglasses "did we end up here?"

Artie tried not to smile but it was hard. "That joke's going to get old one of these days."

"But not today."

A shadow fell over them, as Quinn stood before them, covered in silly string and wearing a straw hat.

"Who's Mr. Charles?" Quinn said as she caught her breath.

"A tactic," Artie replied, "used to alert the person she's in a dream. It's very risky since it alerts the consciousness that things aren't normal and if you can't keep the dreamer believing in the gambit... well the less said the better."

"I thought," Quinn asked as she plucked the silly string off her sun dress, "you weren't supposed to that? The projections will come after you?"

"By now you realize Kurt does a great deal of things he says not to do," Artie remarked, "a great number of things."

"What will happen now?"

"Kurt will use the Mr. Charles gambit to get Santana's trust," Tina said smoothing the fabric of blue dress, "it actually a very good thing to do despite the risks. With the security in her mind, it could help if she can trust us."

"And if he doesn't get her trust?"

Their eyes darted over to where Kurt and Santana sat. The puppets had begun to dance on their own, swaying with an invisible wind and the ground titled a bit.

"Is the dream collapsing?" Quinn asked.

"That's the effects from Mercedes's driving," Tina said putting the sunglasses into her purse, the handle of the gun inside gleamed a bit before she closed it. "She must be running into some trouble."

Quinn however wasn't relieved.

She glanced around nervously at the projections romping through the amusement park. "Everyone's looking this way."

"He must be calling her attention to strangeness of the dream," Artie said with a nod, "the projections are looking for the dreamer, which is me."

"How do you draw attention away?"

"By acting natural and fitting into the environment," Tina said, Like this." Without another word she leaned over and pecked Artie lightly on the lips.

Quinn's eyebrows rose in bit in surprise but she didn't say a word.

"Did it work?" Artie asked.

Tina shook her head.

"Oh well, worth a shot." He tugged her gently by the arm and gestured towards Quinn. "Come with us, Kurt will handle this. We need to distract the projections."

"I hope you aren't going to kiss me as well," Quinn said dryly.

"He wouldn't dream of it," Tina replied hooking her arm into his.

Quinn followed the pair, leading her through the maze of rides and attractions to the spinning tea cup ride in the center of the park.

As Artie pulled out the charges from the back, Tina said to Quinn, "Puck should be finished planting Santana's purse."

"What was the purpose of him stealing it anyway," Quinn asked, "He can't sell it."

"Everything here," Artie said as he placed the bombs on foundation of the ride, "is an idea or concept. It means something."

"So the purse represents-"

"A distraction," Tina said, "look sharp, they're heading our way."

Kurt led Santana through the crowd, Puck followed behind absently chewing on cotton candy.

"We can eat in the dreamscape?" Quinn asked.

"You can do anything," Artie said absently tapping his foot on the ground, "it's all in the mind."

"I wasn't looking for answer."

"It's a reflex," Artie muttered.

"Who are they?" Santana asked turning to Kurt, "Are they part of your security team?"

"We're here to protect you," Kurt assured her smoothly, "and your mind from those who attempt to break into it."

"Why would they want the secrets in my mind?"

"The safe," Artie coughed.

"Yes, the safe," Kurt pointed out, "with the will inside."

"There's no safe, there are no secrets!" Santana yanked herself from the group, "If I'm dreaming, I can just wake myself up can't I?

Artie looked around as the carnival tilted a bit, stretching and straining in reflection of Santana's inner torment.

"Santana." Brittany walked towards the group, but this time as projection from Santana's mind. She held on a leash a golden retriever puppy, whose tagged wagged as it sniffed Santana's leg. "You said you come to the circus with me. But your father said go away after I found what was in the safe."

"What safe," Santana grabbed the projection by the shoulder, but Brittany became tight lipped, "What's in the safe? The will?"

"The only way you'll find out if you go in her mind." Kurt said, "Do the thing that people after you two are trying to do. She knows the secrets it's just locked away."

Santana's' eyes were still locked on Brittany, "fine let's do this."

Tina leaped to action, as the others milled around. "Take a seat you two," she said gesturing for them to sit in the ride. As Santana settled, Tina knocked out with a flick of the knockout gas.

"Let's get this party started," Puck said clapping his hands together, tossing the cotton candy to the ground as he hopped into the ride.

As the others took their places in the seat, Artie pulled out the briefcase placing on the center of the ride as everyone got situated.

"Security's going to run you down," Puck said as he adjusted the seatbelt. Next to him, Quinn squirmed with discomfort. "Watch your back Wheels."

"I'll lead them on a merry chase," Artie said adjusting the dials on the dream machine, "don't worry about it."

"Just be back before the kick," Tina said with a soft smile, "you can't drop us without gravity."

"Are you ready?" Artie asked.

Kurt nodded as he pushed some space between him and Santana.

"See you on the other side," he said slapping the button.

They all collapsed into the next level, and Artie jumped out of the ride, wary of the projections circling the area.

The open area was the one disadvantage of the dream being in amusement park even if was perfectly logically in line with bringing forth the Brittany projection to interact with the mark.

Soon enough he'll hear the musical cue warning him about the jump but first he had to lure away the projections. Coming around the corner he spotted security at once, and purposely caught the eye of one to draw them away from his dreaming companions darted drawing their attention.

Just like Puck and predicted, they were gunning as hard as they could but he knew the perfect distraction. Ducking under through maze of rides he ran into the mirror funhouse. The gun shots that followed him told it worked, and he stared at the mirrors into his multiple reflections recalling the maze Tina had had drawn up.

There was shortcut nearby that he could use...

Glass smashed around him as the reflection of himself shattered in the hail of bullets.

Artie ducked around edge, and the reflections of the projections followed him.

Copies of himself chased ran alongside himself, as he went through the maze.

More glass flew into air as more bullets filled the air.

A projection jumped into a middle of lane, and Artie kicked the swinging bit of mirror. The mirror smashed with a rain of glass that sent him falling back a little harder than before.

Panting, he plucked the bit of glass out of arm, staring at the blood dripping out the wound. Grimacing, he ignored the pain as applied pressure to the wound. A blood trail was certainly given him away.

Time was running short.

Artie looked around trying to judge the reflections from the real thing, watching as the projections moved around him. If he had more time he have developed a more concrete plan, but there were too many things running around.

There was a projection crossing his path right now, gun drawn trying to sniff him out. Given the angle and poor light he wasn't sure if it was a reflection or not.

_Je ne regrette rein… _

Time's up.

Artie pushed himself against the mirror panel, and without a moment's hesitation took a grip of the dreamscape and shifted it slightly.

The panels of mirrors shifted as the world moved under his feet as the reflections realigned themselves.

Standing behind the projection, Artie reached out and grabbed him. The gun went off, but he angled it so like a domino effect the mirrors shattered all around them.

They fell back into the glass, a struggle that sent them rocketing through a few more mirrors as they both reached for the gun.

Then suddenly the world flew out from underneath his feet.

Barely registering the glass floating around him, he didn't hesitate and pulled and knocked out the projection.

No gravity. He missed the kick but he minutes until the van hit the water.

Turning over, he flipped like he was swinging in water, and exited the fun house.

Dodging the floating carnival structures, he made his way towards the tea cup ride.

The projections it seemed had vanished at this point leaning an obstacle course of carnival leftovers. Ducking a popcorn stand, he floated in the air staring at his companion strapped to the tea cup ride.

The plan was to blow up the area underneath the ride, but they would just float into the air if he did that now.

"How do I drop you without gravity?" he whispered to himself.

Unbidden his eyes fell on the drop tower, and recalled the effects were quite similar to an elevator.

Grabbing the bombs at the base, he opened them into a bag before he dragged the sleeping bodies.

It was a bit of a pickle, given the awkwardness of anti-gravity. But he managed to string them together with the cords coming from the dream machine. Ferrying them over to the drop tower he took time to settle each of them, keeping a running tally of the time as he worked efficiently. He attached them loosely to the frame, knowing when the bombs shook the structure the platform would rise giving a firmness to simulate a kick.

The only pause he took was when he started at the drop of blood coming from Quinn's mouth.

Not good.

But as he crouched along the rims of the tower listening to the musical cue, he tired to worry. They done this before, and if the plan didn't deviant to much more it would be no different. These thoughts he kept in mind as he ignited the bombs and the world started to tilt upwards.


End file.
